Balance and Opposites

Balance of power. Balance between good and evil. A balanced life. Being out of balance. In some ways, the search for balance in life is like the conflict regarding moderation that I posted about last week. From the time we are small children, balance is sought. Remember when you were a child, and whenever you saw a ledge, you felt the need to walk along it, practicing your balance skills? Your parent might have walked beside you, if you were very small, holding your hand.

Another learning experience related to balance that children have is opposites. Hot and cold. Sweet and sour. Dark and light. Up and down. Day and night. Soft and hard. Big and little. And so on. Opposites generally reflect two ends of a spectrum, or more appropriately, two different directions in a continuum. It is good that balance exists in the world, but isn't the opposite of balance (imbalance) essential to support the existence of a balance continuum. Does it therefore follow that, if balance is good, imbalance is bad, or are they both simply necessary?